Columbus OH Recap > Katharine McPhee Forums

NoBrokenDreams (Elliott fan) Columbus OH Recap(edited)*

I went to the Columbus, OH concert 8/11 and had an absolute blast. I was VERY worried around the start of show time, because many, many seats were still unfilled. My reaction was one of disbelief, because I know most shows have nearly sold out. The show started almost 25 minutes late, however, and by that time, we were at capacity. My seats were off to the side, with a good view of the stage, much of the audience and the Jumbotron.

My audience area was pretty mixed, with fans for Chris, Elliott, Katharine, and Taylor co-existing in a strange mini-universe of Idol fandom. We had one of the most powerful screamers in the building sitting directly behind us; if you ever need to break glass, call her! She had this way of hitting just the right key to cause your eardrums to burst.

The acoustics at Columbus�s Schottenstein Center are not the greatest. It�s almost too large of a venue; great for a stadium tour (Chris), but not necessarily for other types of music. The band was wayyyyyyyyy too loud. They played over nearly every performer. I don�t know if that�s the idea, to help compensate for vocal imperfections, but when you can�t make out what song is being sung, then you have a problem.

WE could find only ONE souvenir stand, which caused a huge bottleneck. The AI shirt and the Taylor shirt were selling like hotcakes. The gal in front of me put down almost $300 for various souvenirs. She loved all of the Idols it seemed, but wanted to know why there was no shirt just for Ace. She held up the line far too long. Lord love a duck, she didn�t realize only Taylor and Katharine got their own shirts. Read, look and listen, lady.

Now the performances *

KELLIE: Another one that impressed me. Didn�t care for her much on the show, but she seemed more �real� here. There were NO corny jokes, but a sweet speech thanking people for their support :�for all of us. All 10 of us really, really love you all.� Her performances were pretty good, and she was a crowd favorite. Country music is HUGE in Columbus, so no surprise.

KATHARINE: Columbus LOVES Kat! Great cheers, and good-natured love. Only two songs, with BLACK HORSE and OVER THE RAINBOW both pretty good. OTR is again, like MMFL, not a song that will find its future in stadiums. There were a ton of teenage girls in the audience and they just adored her. I�m still pretty much indifferent, but I think her detractors had better wake up to the fact that she is quite popular. Yes, I now look for a #1 album.

My favorite moment of the evening was provided not by the concert or any performer, but by a young pre-teen girl we talked to while waiting for the buses to take us back to our cars. She loved all the Idols, but wanted more Elliott. I didn�t know he had fans at such a young age! I wanted to hug her, but figured her parents would freak�LOL. Her father admitted to sleeping during much of the concert, however. What parents won�t do for their children! Alas, there is hope for the future that good vocals will be appreciated, and perhaps a new musical renaissance is on the way.

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*Full recap at http://mjsbigblog.com/categories/americanIdol/